Island



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN A. SGHOLFIELD, OF WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND.

LOOM.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

T0 all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN A. SoHoLFmLD, of Westerly, I/Vashington county, and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Looms for IVeaving Either Plain or Variety Goods, and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said improvement, reference beingv had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

The principle of my invention consists in drawing the cam wheel which acts on the harness, not by'a uniform motion, but, by an intermittent and variable motion; its periods of intermission and change coinciding with those of the springing or changing of the harness and is as follows, viz;

A Figure 1st is a cam wheel acting so as to raise the lever L by the action of the cams 1, 2, 3, zc., on the shoe or step Z of the levers which are hung onv the bolt or fulcrum b. These levers are made of iron and are enlarged or weighted at the extremity C at which place they are to be connected with the harness and act by forcing the harness upward while the heft of the levers and weights c bring the harness down when left free from the actions of the cams.

Fig. 2 is a face view of the cam wheel which consists of any number of circular plates a according to the number of harnesses to be used, (that in the drawing represents eight) with cams or tappets 1, 2, 3, &c. on their surfaces: these act on an equal number of levers L Fig. 1 to raise the harness, the weight of the levers and their enlargements C are sufficient to bring the harness down again after the cam ceases to act thereon.

B is a disk wheel having slots from the circumference toward the center in such manner that two stud pins e Fig. 3 may act therein as the driving disk wheel f with its two opposite studs revolves and carries the disk wheel B along with it. The slots are at just suflicient distance from each other at the surface that one of the stud pins e shall enter one of the slots while the other stud is leaving its slot, and they must be of sufiicient length downward to suffer the disk wheel f to revolve freely without carrying the studs c hard on the bottom. From these premises it is apparent that by the revolution of the disk wheel with it-s studs e the slotted disk wheel B is putin motion as one gear wheel would communicate motion to 18,061, dated August 25, 1857.

another, but that the action of the wheel B is by this communication intermittent and variable. Thus while in action and in the position as shown in the drawing Fig. 3 the action of the stud e of the disk f is the greatest possible on the disk B, that is the motion of B is to that of f as e 71, the radius f to e g the radius B. But when boththe studs e are brought to coincide with the circumference of the disk B or while one is entering and the other leaving` the slots the motion ofl B is the least possible or in a theoretic state of rest. The result of which is that the harness may be raised and brought down suddenly by a concentrated action at the time of change and suffering them to be extended during some definite and suitable time still allowing a free and easy shape to the cams which act thereon. Vithout this intermittent and concentrated action of the studs c in the disk B the cams 1 2 8 &c. on the cam wheel A Fig. 1 would require to be so shaped as to move the levers and harnesses with a suitable rapidity and to delay their action thereon through suitable intervals of time to allow a proper action of the loom. And when an intense concentration of action is exerted by any cam by giving it such form as to act intensely through a small amount of space, its action is laborious and unsteady and jarring, injurious alike to the machinery and the product of its action, but whenever in the concentration of action if it can be effected by dividing this concentration between two or more parts which act as motors in producing this concentration, the results are attained with an ease and smoothness otherwise impracticable. And in fact it is found by the use of this improvement that a loom operates much easier than without, and

can be run in either direction backward or forward with equal facility. l

The cam wheel may be from 8 to 12 inches in diameter, and the disk wheel B may be of about the same size the circular plates a of the cam wheel Fig. v2 should be about inch thick, and the cams or tappets 1, 2, 3, &c. should be about inch thick and should be about 2 inches high from the face of the circular plates, and they may be in shape nearly as shown in Fig. 1, and the shoe l on the lever may be nearly as there shown. Two inches rise over the cam wheel would give about t or 41g inches at the center C of the swell; at which point the connection should be made for the action of the harness.

Instead of cams to act on the shoe of the levers, rollers 7- may perform that office as shown at Fig. 4L. These rollers may be supported on journals in their circular plates as shown at Fig. 5, the plates being about fg inch thick and being about inch distant to alloW a'roller inch thick, or cams may be used as at Figs. l and 2 While rollers are attached to the levers in place of the shoes d. Rollers may also be fitted on the studs e to act in the slots of .the disk Wheel B having these slots enlarged to the capacity of such rollers and with these changes, the motions Will be eected easier than otherwise.

This improvement is applicable to looms for Weaving plain or variety goods and dispenses With all the upper fixtures for raising the harness usually employed especially in complicated Work.

The cams or rollers of the cam Wheel may be placed in any order of succession desired, according to the kind of goods to be Woven; and this order may be easily changed b-y taking the circular plates apart and rear ranging them or by having others to put in their places. Some of the advantages of this mode of driving the cam Wheel for operating the harness by means of the star gears to give a variable motion thereto, are; that the cam Wheel may be much smaller, While carrying the same number of cams or changes, than WhenA driven with a uniform motion, or if of the same size it may carry a greater number of cams or changes, and y consequently a greater variety of patterns may be Woven with this application than Without. For if on a small cam Wheel a large number of cams is attached, these in order to give the proper action to the harness must necessarily be set very steep, so as to act abrupt, and harshly thereon, but by the intermittent and variable action, the cam may be more open and free; its action being timed by the accelerated and retarded motion given by the star gears.

I am aware that the star gears under a modified form have been used for changing the position of the shuttle boX, and also the pattern chain Which governs the order of succession of the harness (as in the patents of Samuel Eccles of March 1850, and ot Samuel and James Eccles of August 1852) but these are for totally dierent objects from that contemplated in this. Therefore I do not claim the construction, or use of star gears, for any purpose except to drive a cam Wheel to spring the harness in Weaving.

What I claim as my invention and for which I solicit Letters Patent is- The driving a revolving cam or tappet Wheel, Which acts to spring the harness or produce a shed in Weaving, by an intermittent or variable motion, by the use of star gears, substantially as above described.

EDVIN A. SCI-IOLFIELD. l/Vitnesses N. SGHOFIELD, H. M. SGHOLFIELD. 

